We all love topping just about anything with this flaky umami-booster. But, that name.

Rarely does an ingredient unite food bloggers, health nuts, professional chefs, celebrity chefs, and media types together in revelatory edible bliss. But nutritional yeast has done just that. Long utilized by vegetarians and vegans as a flavor-boosting cheese substitute, this flaky yellow powder adds a savory punch to just about anything you sprinkle it on, from roasted vegetables to freshly popped pop corn.

But let's be honest here. Nutritional yeast has an image problem. Or, rather, a branding problem. No matter how delicious the stuff is, it's still called nutritional yeast for crying out loud. That doesn't exactly scream "Hello, I'm delicious, eat me."

And that's a shame.

What exactly is nutritional yeast? It's a deactivated yeast, so not the type that's used as a leavening agent in bread, but one that's produced specifically to be a healthy, vitamin B-filled jar in your kitchen cabinet. There are no animal or wheat products used in its production, so it's completely gluten-free and vegan. And they pack an intense, addictive punch of umami, which is why so many people have rallied around it.

Still. That name.

Yep, that's a pile of nutritional yeast.

So, nutritional yeast, I'm going to give you a makeover in the form of a new moniker. Everybody, please meet Flavor Flakes. Flavor Flakes have all of the health benefits and umami-enhancing taste of nutritional yeast without the weird, clinical, antiseptic name. You should definitely top your mac and cheese with Flavor Flakes. They'll make a great addition when sprinkled over any roasted and charred vegetable salad. Looking to upgrade those plain cooked grains you've been forcing down night after night? Grab a pinch of Flavor Flakes for those suckers.

It turns out I wasn't the first person think about giving nutritional yeast rebranding advice. A few years ago, the message boards of the popular vegan cooking blog Post Punk Kitchencoopted the nickname of, um, "nooch." The theory (I think) is that nooch is a "cute" term that makes the ingredient more approachable and less, well, yeasty. One staffer around the offices thew out the idea that nutritional yeast is so good that it's like healthy hooch? Whatever the reasoning behind it, calling something nooch makes me want to run in the opposite direction, never turning back for fear of coming face-to-face with nooch.

So I'm sticking with my name. Nutritional yeast, you've had a great run. But it's Flavor Flakes' turn in the spotlight now.